PSYB01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Control Variable, Dependent And Independent Variables, Confounding
Document Summary
Psychology: scientific study of people, the mind, and behaviour. Focusing on how people feel, think, behave, believe, interact. Started with empiricism: school of philosophy that says that knowledge is gained through experience, observation, and experiment. This information is referred to as data: considered empirical because it can be measured and evaluated statistically. Empirical evidence is different from anecdotal evidence as anecdotal cannot be translated into quantifiable form. Scientific method is crucial as it minimizes bias: unfair practices that discriminate against others. The method provides rules for collecting data and for evaluating results. Philosophers claim that there are two types of questions, referred to as is-ought questions: Is" questions: can be answered by facts or empirical data, and these answers are independent of social, cultural, political, and religious preference. Ought" questions: influenced by beliefs that reflect ideology, politics, law, etc. Science cannot provide any direct, definitive answers to these questions.
